Convertible Car Seats - Very Confused!!

I personally think our Marathon is worth every penny. If you want a particular brand, I'd focus just on that brand and then compare what you need between models. We went with the Marathon in part because it would go from 35RF and 65FF and that was pretty high for the time (now they are 40 and 70). My DD is short, so we didn't need something that would fit a very tall child, and it would fit in my car. I also had friends who were very happy with their Marathons. I don't know if any Graco seat has a RF tether, which was another reason we went with Britax. We bought two (different times, online and on sale) and we mostly leave them in the cars she rides in most. Occasionally we'll install them somewhere else or move the one out of the van to move furniture or something when we don't need her seat. I find the adjustments to the straps to be very easy and the covers are very washable. If you have LATCH, installation is even easier. I figure by the time she's 65 lbs, we'll be looking at a booster/the new laws anyway. She is going to be 3 this summer and still RF and while she does kick the back of the seat, she's not uncomfortable.

We also had a Keyfit 30 and were happy with the transition to the Britax. We also bought on albeebaby.com.

I would have to disagree on the Comfort Sport. At least for how they were the last time I checked. One of the important things you want to look for in a convertible is the rear-facing weight limit. Since the AAP now recommends rear facing until kids are at least 2, you will want something that the child will not get too heavy for before that point. Once a child goes forward facing, seats are outgrown when the child's shoulders go over the top slots. Most every child will outgrow a forward facing seat by height before weight. The last I checked, the Comfort Sport had very low top slots and the lowest rear facing limit of all the major brands so it has very limited rear facing and forward facing use. I know my son would have most likely been too tall for it before he turned 3. Not such a good deal then, considering that you don't want your child in a booster before age 4 or 5 so that will leave you needing to buy another seat (which will almost assuredly cost you just as much or more than your original investment in the Comfort Sport). I have owned several brands of carseats over the years with my 4 kids including Graco, Britax, Evenflo, Sunshine Kids, Dorel/Cosco, and Fisher Price. Britax is hands down my favorite and I think the easiest to use and install. Plus, they have a higher rear facing limit and much higher top slots. We had a Marathon (now expired) that my oldest daughter was able to use until she was about 6 and had no problem sitting properly in a booster. However, there have been a lot of new seats that have come out in the past 2-3 years since I bought our last seat. Check out this group for good recommendations. They can help you match up your budget, child's size, and car and give you your best options. http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a7645/car_seat_que...

ETA - After answering this question I stopped in the car seat aisle while at Walmart and plopped my just turned 3 year old into the Comfort Sport. He has WAY outgrown it. And don't put much stock in Consumer Reports when it comes to car seats. They have had issues with their testing seats at unrealistic speeds and there have been instances when a seat has tested well one year and poorly the following even though no changes were made to the seat from one model year to the next. That means it was improperly used in the testing.

I love my Britax. I went through several car seats before deciding I like Britax the best. Any model is fine. They have a great website so you can decide which one you want before purchasing it. If you have bucket seats the Britax fits best.

Convertibles are very hard to move from car to car. If you want a more affordable car seat that is good as well get a True Fit Convertible car seat from The First Years. You can put that one in the second car.

Hope that helps.

A lot of my friends have Britax carseat, so there's something to be said for that. We have a Recaro & Evenflo convertible carseat in our main car & another Evenflo carseat in our second car. Recaro is a German engineering company that makes the seats in race cars.

I live in Plymouth, & the city sells the Evenflo carseats at cost to us. The Triumph is $115 and the Titan is $80. The Evenflo seats have met or exceed all safety requirements. You don't have to be a Plymouth resident to purchase the carseats. If you're interested, contact Sara Cwayna at ____@____.com will install the carseat in your car for you for no additional cost, which is a nice perk! She even made sure the other carseat I installed was in correctly. Any time I switch carseats, I have her reinstall the carseats for M..

HTH!

The britax website can help you compare the different seats based on features. We have the marathon, that seems to be the most popular. Goes up to 65 lbs forward facing, super comfy, safe, easy to install. Super easy to move between our two cars as needed. We were in a fatality accident with one and our dd was uninjured! You get the best deals on them at albeebaby.com or buying new in box on eBay.

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The britax website can help you compare the different seats based on features. We have the marathon, that seems to be the most popular. Goes up to 65 lbs forward facing, super comfy, safe, easy to install. Super easy to move between our two cars as needed. We were in a fatality accident with one and our dd was uninjured! You get the best deals on them at albeebaby.com or buying new in box on eBay.

Updated

The britax website can help you compare the different seats based on features. We have the marathon, that seems to be the most popular. Goes up to 65 lbs forward facing, super comfy, safe, easy to install. Super easy to move between our two cars as needed. We were in a fatality accident with one and our dd was uninjured! You get the best deals on them at albeebaby.com or buying new in box on eBay.

I wouldn't bother wit hthe Graco Comfortsport, smallest shortest car seat on the market, lasts most kids to age 2 only before they outgrow it. Not worth the money.

Graco MyRide 65 will rear face to 40lbs, forward to 65 for $150

Evenflo Triumph Advance will rear face to 35, forward to 50 (new ones to 65) for $130

FirstYears TrueFit will rear face to 35, forward to 65 for $180

Britax Roundabout55 will rear face to 35, forward to 55.

These are all great seats that will rear face your son until he's at least 2 and 30lbs (the minimum recommendation by the AAP and NHTSA, and hte cars seat manufacturers), and forward face him until he's at least 5/6 and mature enough physically and mentally for a high back booster seat.

We have Evenflo convertable car seats and really like them. Our convertable booster seats (have the harnesses that can be removed) are both Graco. I tried the car seats out in my car first (BabiesRus lets you do that) and found the Britax didn't fit rear facing in my car well.

I just looked up how they are ranked on Consumer Reports and this is the top of the list in order. Evenflo Triumph Advance, Evenflo Momentum 65, Evenflo Symphony 65, First Years True Fit, Graco My Ride, Britax Marathon, Britax Roundabout.

We had the Chicco and absolutely loved how solid it felt. When it was time to move up we tried another brand of carseat and a Britax Marathon for our other car. I absolutely love the Britax. We now have a Marathon and a Roundabout. I sold the other carseat because I couldn't stand it. The Roundabout is a little more compact but also only goes to 55 lbs. You can compare the seats on their website. I just love how easy they are to install and how solid they feel for safety purposes. We just got the Parkway booster for my oldest. I would recommend 2 seats. They aren't too bad to take in and out of the car but if you are constantly moving them around you might not get it secure and installed properly every time.

The britax website can help you compare the different seats based on features. We have the marathon, that seems to be the most popular. Goes up to 65 lbs forward facing, super comfy, safe, easy to install. Super easy to move between our two cars as needed. We were in a fatality accident with one and our dd was uninjured! You get the best deals on them at albeebaby.com or buying new in box on eBay.

I was just having the same dilemma! I went with the Evenflo Symphony 65 e3. I was worried about not going with Graco as that is what we used for our older son and were always pleased. When I went to Babies R Us the salesclerk was more than helpful and gave M. info on all of them. The Britax and Evenflo came the most highly recommended. I have been very pleased with the seat and how it works and its ease of installing. I too was shocked about the prices, I don't remember having such a dilemma when shopping for my son's seat 6 years ago!

They all pass the same standards. The Britax doesn't have cup holders if that's important to you. The Graco Comfortsport is a little smaller than the My ride - I ended up the the Comfort sport since it takes up less room and I have a little toddler (still fits her infant carrier)! I had looked at the Cosco Scenera which was about half the price of the comfort sport but I didn't feel like it had as much padding. We've had our comfort sport for about 2 months and I love it! I'm glad I went with that instead of spending the extra on a britax. Now I have the difference to buy a 2nd one for my parents when she outgrows her infant carrier.!
If you have a store that lets you try store models in your car (some Toys R us do and Kids stuff) that might be a good idea too.

I know a mom who installs car seats and bought 3 convertibles before she found one that fit rear facing in her car. They all worked fine as forward facing though.

We have a Cosco one and it only cost about $50 at Kmart. It's so simple to use, the covers are removable and machine washable, and they are easy to adjust as your child grows. they have several different covers available, but they are all the same model, regardless of cover/name (there are different names for the boy one and the girl one, but they are the same model). we have one for our 5 month old, and our 3 year old has been in hers since she was about a year old. never had any problems with them. oh and they come with detachable cup holders too.

definitely get one seat for each car - convertible seats are not something you want to have to move between vehicles on a daily basis :-). Many people will opt to have a less expensive seat for the less frequently used vehicle, and now that there are a wider range of convertible seats that harness past 40 lbs. (when my 9YO's first moved to convertible seats, the Britax Marathon was the *only* one that did) with prices starting at around $110, you've got plenty to choose from.
I'd recommend checking out some seats IRL if possible to see how easy they are for you to adjust and install - like you said, you'll be using it for a long time so you don't want to be stuck with one that has a twisty harness or a sticky adjuster. Britax seats have a lot of convenience features and fabric patterns and are generally easy to install and easy to use, but now that more seats have comparable height and weight limits you can get some very good seats for less $ - BeckyW's listed a bunch of great moderate-priced ones.

The Graco Comfort Sport is VERY highly rated and it's easy to install. It's way cheaper so if price is something you have to consider it's a great option! That's what we've used for our kids and they are very comfy and easy to clean also. :o)